How I Learnt English (and how all languages should be taught).

Spoken words first, written words last.

Not that I actually remember the first few things I learnt, but I'm assuming, from observation of how other, younger family members in my social circles were brought up, I dare say the first few things I learnt were something like "Mother, Fater, Sister, Brother, Aunty, Uncle, Cousin, Grandma, Grandpa" (Btw, can you figure out which word from that collection is the odd one out ... and why?) ;-)

Also, by the time I'd started school, where they teach you what words are and how to write them, I was already quite fluent in the speaking of my native tongue - English.

All this makes me wonder why Universities feel the need to shovel everything - vocabulary, writing, social structure, grammar ... everything - down your proverbial throat at a million miles a minute before you've even had time to mentally digest all the information from the previous lesson.  Not to mention you've got two or three other subjects that have to be studied.

Humans are full of self-righteous bullshit.

It makes far more sense to teach people any new language the same way they learnt there own - speaking/listening first; reading/writing last.

I've often thought it would make more sense to learn the writing system in second semester, if not second year. The reason being that now your mind has a decent size vocabulary to attach the newly acquired written words too, rather than just having them as meaningless symbol attached to a meaningless letter.

Your thoughts?

Thank you. ^_^